Joe McWilliams
Lakeside Leader
Demand seems to be exceeding supply in local real estate recently. And not just on the residential side. According to local realtor Julie Brandle (of Slave Lake’s Royal LePage) commercial/industrial properties have been selling better lately. She thinks it’s likely in response to increased drilling activity in the Marten Hills area – itself a result of higher oil prices in recent months.
“I’ve been hearing this for about a year now and while we aren’t quite there yet, there is a definite ‘buzz’ in the community,” Brandle says. “There are hardly any shops to lease at the moment and only a few for sale, so just like the residential side, supply is low and if the anticipated demand happens, it will definitely impact prices.”
The residential market – as reported last year – has been brisk as can be after a dip early in the COVID period, but it didn’t really result in prices going up. That’s apparently because demand more or less matched supply. But a shortage of inventory at the moment could push prices up, Brandle figures, if it lasts into the spring.
“That has been a long time coming for some sellers,” she says, “as prices have continued to decline ever since the oil crash in 2015.”
Agreed, says Century 21 owner Jim Sparks. The residential market is shifting towards being a sellers’ market, after five years of declines.
It’s “becoming more reminiscent of sales volumes in 2014,” he says in an email to The Leader. “I would see 2022 as a very robust market, where buyers will need to be on their top game, ready to make decisions. Sellers too, if they want to get the best price they can. He’s happy to help, Sparks adds.
The commercial rental side of things seems to be perking up as well. Ali Mouallem (of Alimo’s Ventures) says Plaza 2000 is pretty much full up these days. He had one spot free, but it was snapped up after being available only three weeks. In former times, he says, spaces went vacant for more like six months.
Another property in the family business is the former Husky building on Caribou Trail. Mouallem says it’s about 70 per cent occupied.
“I always have people looking for spaces that aren’t available in Slave Lake,” he says. For some of them, the Husky building option is a good one – some smaller spaces, lower rent than downtown and so on.
Mouallem is bullish about the prospects for Slave Lake generally. He predicts “the next 10 years,” are going to be good ones, economically for the area.
